Your views on keeping cats indoors?

Question

I have had indoor cats all my life. They are happy, healthy, neutered, vaccinated and disease-free.

Every time I tell someone that my current cat is kept indoors, I am greeting with a disapproving look (particularly from people of an older generation) and told that they think it is 'cruel'.

My perfect compromise would be to have a cat run or cat fence so that my cat was allowed outside, but could not stray from the garden. I currently live in an apartment, so we do not have the option of letting him in the garden! ;-)

What are your thoughts on keeping cats indoors?

xx Emmie

Answer 1

Indoor cats live to be three times older than outdoor cats which are at risk of getting run over, disease, fights and cuts and getting lost. So, is it really more cruel to keep him inside, safe and happy and warm? When you meet people who judge you for this, know that they are not worth your time.

Answer 2

I have an indoor cat too. Well loved, and healthy. We also lived in a town flat, (although we now have moved into the countryside) and so kept him as a house cat. He has always been happy with this.
We are now living in the country, and still have him as a house cat. It is all he has known since we collected him at 8 weeks.
We took ours out last night into the shared garden, while we had a bbq with the neighbours; all he wanted to do was get back into the house.
I too have had a lot of people judging me for not letting him out, but it is my cat and I love him lots. I don't want him to be hurt, or worse, so I protect him. He has lots of toys and climbing things to keep him amused while I am at work, earning money to buy him more sweeties.

Answer 3

Cats should be kept indoors or under control at all times when outside.

A feline is an introduced species in all but a few areas of the world. When left to roam they kill indiscriminately and are a severe detriment to local wildlife of all kinds. Many people don't realize the harm their cats can do when let outside or they refuse to acknowledge it.

I've had cats over 30 years. All the cats I've had have stayed inside their entire lives. They have a window box so they can sit in the sunshine and enjoy the fresh air but can not get out to do harm to the wildlife or to themselves.

Some may think it's cruel and against the nature of the cat, but I would have to say that it is more cruel to expose local wildlife to an introduced predator species that could be controlled simply by keeping the door closd.

Answer 4

I dont believe its cruel to keep him indoors, it depends on the cat and his personality. If all his needs are met indoors then there is no reason why it's cruel to keep him inside.

On a fun note..have you considered getting a harness and extending leash for your cat. I have a friend who recently adopted one of my kittens and now he goes everywhere. He's had a merry old time and been hill walking...and even in a canoe and camping. Its one way you can take your cat out with you occasionally if he enjoys the outside.

You can put a harness on a cat, but you should never use a collar like a dog, cats take great exception to that!

Answer 5

My cat loves the outdoors and would crack up if he was kept indoors - he was climbing the walls when we had to keep him in after we moved!!!

I used to always think that this was the best for cats and had never met a cat who didnt like the outdoors - however I since have met cats that are even agraphobic and will puff up if they even get a wiff of the outdoors.

If your cat is happy enough to stay indoors then I dont think that you are doing them any harm.

Answer 6

Most breeds have been so domesticated that it is not really in their best interest to let them outside.
I know that some people believe that a cat needs to be free to roam about, that it is in their nature, however, this isn't necessarily true.
I agree with most of those that answered that cats do have a longer life span if kept indoors, as long as they are fed a healthy diet.
My cats have always been indoor cats and all are happy and healthy, and show no interest in going outside. (they do, however, like to get out the front door of my apartment and run up the stairs)

Answer 7

Hey Emmy. Please don't take this as an attack on you, it's just how I feel about some instances of indoor cats and owners. I understand why you keep yours indoors.
If you don't have a garden at all that's not a problem, but if you do, it's another.

It's a total fallacy that cats will die within a few years of they are not, ask MILLIONS of us for actual data, my cats have all lived just about as long as indoor cats cause I know how to care for them. They've all been given outdioors to roam as they want. I live on a highway, for the record, and I have an SPCA cat.

As for the dangers of the outdoors.....they can as easily chew the wrong houseplant and get poisoned indoors. And no, they don't just run away. Cats that run away were not happy to start with.

They will get run over IF you don't teach them about cars.
See, that's the thing, most people would rather take the shortcut than teach their animals about outdoors. Kinda like rather declaw then teach them with scratching post and catnip. Where's the sense in that? There is none.

If it was all that bad outdoors, how come millions of our cats are happilly living very long lives?

To me the perfect compromise is this: Keep the cat you get indoors for four months, that way they know where home and food and love is. They won't go far, but you can't expect them to sit indoors and get fat as they tend to (from not getting the excersize they should be getting). Then gradually teach them about outdoors. If you teach them right they can't go wrong.

People vastly underestimate cats and their instinct. If they didn't have instinct, there would not BE millions of us who'se cats happilly come and go. People would rather just enforce their will, like declawing instead of spending a bit of time and a fraction of the cost, ensuring the cat HAS to be inddoors forever. Didn't we have a lady here not long ago who'se cat met a dog and didn't survive? So much for still being able to defend themselves, they cannot, and all this cause people get lazy.

It's almost like saying to a child to never ever go out at all, there's a BIG danger out there and this is for their own good. Yes the kid would be alive, but does that make it right? NO. Not unless you live on like the 17th floor of an apartment that is. Even here in the apartments we have cats that take the lift downstairs go out for the day and wait for their owners at the lift and go up with them, cat's aren't stupid despite what owners want to think.

If you teach it about outdoors, you can surmount ANY so-called problem that the indoor crowd advocate. They can get diseases you or your kids bring in as easily as getting it outdoors. They get sunshine and more excersize outdoors.
Having taken care of shots and flea collars and such as we can tell you, the problems vanish.

If your cat has been indoors then gets let outside in a controlled manner, they'll stay away from other cats generally so they won't pick up anything.

Answer 8

i think that having indoor cats is perfectly fine. as long as the cat seems to be happy then what is the problem. if you have had the cats since they were kittens then its is not as if they know any different. i think it is slightly a problem when you get cats as adults who have previously been outside, then confine them. they wont be used to it and can cause a problem with the cats behaviour.
so as i said if your cat is happy and contented and perfectly healthy then there is no problem whatsoever in having a house cat. ignore those people who say negative things about the situation.

Answer 9

Hi Emmie, I have 1 house cat and 1 outdoor cat, the house cat is very happy to be indoors all the time, he just does not want to go out so i don't force him as long as he is happy i don't care about what anyone else thinks. My outdoor cat however would really be unhappy if he couldn't go out, he particularly loves it when we are in the garden with him, and if he could smile he would be grinning like a Cheshire cat.

Answer 10

I have an indoor/outdoor cat.I think if you live in an area where cats can't be let out you shouldn't have 1.

They are not dogs or babies and need far more freedom.If you wanted a pet you could monitor 24 hrs a day you should have bought a dog.

And no I'm not of the older generation-I'm 25.

Answer 11

I think as long as the cat has plenty of exercise and a "cat-friendly" home, they can live a long and happy life (although why vaccinate them?). Certain breeds are more suited to indoor life, e.g. Siamese or Ragdolls - adventurous breeds may not cope as well, but on the whole I think it gives the cat a much safer life than the outside world.